Biking in Baltimore
by Thomas Krag (just highlights)
Thomas’ Cycling, Safety and Health article discusses risk perception and how we (often wrongly) measure risk and goes on to highlight how safe cycling is as well as showing the health benefits of having high numbers of bicycle users/Citizen Cyclists in a city or country.
Noon – 1:00 pm: Biking in Baltimore
House Bill 363, which would create a new crime of negligent homicide by vehicle, is up for a vote in the Maryland Senate tomorrow. Bike advocates say the bill is designed to stop motorists involved in fatal bicycle crashes from getting off with a minor traffic violation. The family of a comatose Johns Hopkins University student, critically injured while riding his bicycle last month in north Baltimore, has brought a $10 million lawsuit against the driver whose car struck him. Bike safety and culture in Baltimore: Will legislative measures and lawsuits be enough to make the streets safer for cyclists? And could the city ever embrace a bike-sharing program popular in Washington, Portland, and Boston, where a network of high-tech bikes and computerized kiosks are available to residents and tourists? Our guests: Nate Evans, bicycle & pedestrian planner for the Baltimore Department of Transportation; Fern Shen, editor and publisher of Baltimore Brew; and Carol Silldorff, executive director of Bike Maryland.
Continue reading “Tuesday, April 5 MIDDAY with DAN RODRICKS 88.1 WYPR”
We have sad news to report regarding Nathan Krasnopoler, our student who was hit by a car and critically injured on Feb. 26. Nathan’s family has informed us that the brain damage that Nathan sustained as a result of the accident appears to be permanent and he is not expected to recover any cognitive function. We are deeply saddened to learn this and ask that everyone join us in keeping Nathan and his family in their thoughts at this very difficult time.
Sincerely,
Nicholas P. Jones
Benjamin T. Rome Dean, Whiting School of Engineering
Yehuda Moon Language Barrier
https://yehudamoon.com/index.php?date=2011-04-01
from TheWashCycle by washcycle
This is one of those frustrating things about democracy as it is practiced. The Maryland house passes a bill unanimously, and the Senate would probably pass it and the governor will surely sign it, but one person – a single member of the Senate – is able to kill the bill. Bike Maryland reports
HB 363 passed in the House Chamber and the bill is now in the hands of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee. We have strong support from many members of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee. However, Bike Maryland, along with other advocates, met with Senator Frosh, Chair of the Judicial Proceedings Committee, who informed us that he does NOT plan to let the bill out of Committee which means that the bill will NOT become law. If you live in Senator Frosh’s District (Montgomery County) it is crucial that you please call his office and state that you are a constituent and want him to let this bill out of committee. Senator Frosh – brian.frosh@senate.state.md.us; 1-800-492-7122, ext. 3124.
Here’s a roundup of coverage of the bill.
Did You Know?
• More than 2.3 million adult drivers and passengers were treated in emergency departments as the result of being
injured in motor vehicle crashes in 2009.
1
• One pedestrian is killed in a traffic crash every 113 minutes and injured every eight minutes. Pedestrians are 1.5
times more likely than car passengers to be killed in a motor vehicle crash.
2
• Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for U.S. teens, accounting for more than one in three deaths in
this age group.
3
• Every day, more than 16 people are killed and more than 1,300 people are injured in car crashes involving a distracted
driver.
4
• Child safety seats reduce the risk of death in cars by 71% for infants and by 54% for toddlers’ ages one to four.
5
• Alcohol-impairment—either for the driver or for the pedestrian—was reported in 48% of the traffic crashes that
resulted in pedestrian death in 2008.
6
• Seatbelt use reduces serious injuries and deaths in car crashes by 50%.
7
• A speed limit of 40 mph or below reduces the risk of a crash by 4 times that of a crash on a road with a speed limit of
65 mph or greater.
8
• If every state had strong graduated drivers licensing (GDL) programs to help new drivers gain skills under low risk
conditions, 175 lives would be saved and about 350,000 injuries prevented each year.
9
Continue reading “National Public Health Week begins Monday, April 4th”
By SARAH GOODYEAR – Grist
How important was the bicycle in changing the role of women
in the world? Consider these words from Munsey’s
Magazine in 1896:
To men, the bicycle in the
beginning was merely a new toy, another machine added to the long list of
devices they knew in their work and play.To women, it was a steed upon which
they rode into a new world.
You’ll find that quotation, along with tons of fascinating
tidbits about the early history of women and bicycling, in Sue Macy’s new book Wheels of Change: How Women Rode the Bicycle
to Freedom (With a Few Flat Tires Along the Way).
It’s a
freewheeling and fun tour of the surprisingly powerful effect bicycles had on a
women’s position in society in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Take a look at a few of the images from the book.
found via Washcycle:
Amtrak Call to Action
Dear Trail Supporter:
The Allegheny Trail Alliance and the Trail Town Program have been advocating for the roll-on/roll off service along Amtrak’s Capitol Limited Route and need your continued help! Thanks to your support we are that much closer to seeing this happen, and you can still contribute! The attached letter thanks Amtrak for their interest and encourages them to provide this service as soon as they can. Please adapt the letter below and make the necessary changes (highlighted as red text) to personalize it for your own situation and interest.
Amtrak prefers hard copies rather than e-mails, so we ask that you send a copy directly to the address listed in the supplemental letter below. Also, please mail a copy of your letter to the ATA at P.O. Box 501, Latrobe, PA 15650, or e-mail it to admin@atatrail.org
Your immediate help is necessary and greatly appreciated! Thank you for your time!
Letter of Support
Date
Mr. Joseph H. Boardman
President and CEO of Amtrak
National Railroad Passenger Corporation
60 Massachusetts Avenue, NE
Washington, DC 20002
Dear Mr. Boardman,
Thank you for your interest in providing enhanced bicycle service on the Capitol Limited. I am excited by the prospect of being able to roll-on and roll-off on the Capitol Limited route between Pittsburgh, PA and Washington, DC. I am encouraged with the news that it might be available in Spring 2011. I want to bike the Great Allegheny Passage and the C&O Canal towpath and appreciate the opportunity to ride the rails before I ride the trails. I look forward to using the service every year/month/week, especially between x and y.
We appreciate Amtrak’s commitment to enhancing tourism opportunities and multi-modal transportation networks.
Sincerely,
(Your signature)
Copy: Ray LaHood, Secretary, U. S. Department of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Ave, SE
Washington, DC 20590
Trail Towns
Click here for Trip Packages & Bike Rides
Click here to Explore our Towns!
Download the Trail Town Manual and Other Materials
Visit the Trail Towns website to learn what’s happening in towns along the Great Allegheny Passage.
Click here for the 2008 Economic Impact Study
Continue reading “Rail Trail Groups lobby for unboxed bikes on Amtrak and Commuter rail”
Drag racing, speeding, being drunk and of course killing someone seems to meet Maryland minimum standards for recklessness,
I will assert that drag racing is still around as the only significant deterrent requires a perfect storm of several gross negligent acts.
Continue reading “Currently, what it takes to get an extra fine for killing someone.”
